While Singapore's net financial assets per capital grew 4.4 percent year-on-year, global economic instability and trade wars are weighing heavily on the global middle class, according to Allianz's new «Global Wealth Report.»

With net financial assets per capita of €100,370 ($110,201), Singapore has taken the crown from Japan as the richest country/region in Asia, ranking third globally after the United States and Switzerland, according to the 10th edition of the «Global Wealth Report,» published last week by German financial services company Allianz. 

Financial assets in both industrial and emerging economies both fell together for the first time in 2018, while the gross financial assets of Asian households (ex-Japan) fell 0.9 percent during the year – the first decline since the global financial crisis a decade ago, the report, which looks at the asset and debt situation of households in more than 50 countries and regions, said.

Global equity prices fell by 12 percent in 2018, which directly affected asset growth – the global gross financial assets of private households fell by 0.1 percent, to €172.5 trillion. The publication attributed this decline to increasing geopolitical tensions and a slowdown in international trade.

«The dismantling of the rule-based global economic order is poisonous for wealth accumulation. The numbers for asset growth also make it evident: Trade is a no zero-sum game. Either all are on the winning side – as in the past – or all are on the losing side – as happened last year,» Michael Heise, chief economist of Allianz Group, said.

Stagnating Global Middle Class

The size of the global middle class, at 1,040 million people, remained relatively similar to the year before. This is the first time in over a decade that this demographic did not grow, Allianz said, attributing it to shrinking assets in China. 

However, report co-author Arne Holzhausen, Allianz head of insurance and wealth markets, said «There are still plenty of opportunities for global prosperity,» noting that if countries with large populations like Brazil, Russia and India had better wealth distribution, the global middle class could grow by 350 million

«Questioning globalization and free trade now deprives millions of people around the world of their opportunities for advancement,» Holzhausen concluded.